California Native Insect Pollinators

Creating a Pollinator Habitat

This is only a
partial list and it's not in any order as we keep adding to it.

We're developing a list of insects that pollinate
native plants and non-native fruit crops. Native insects were
found to
be 100 times more efficient than honeybees as
pollinators
in an almond orchard. Creating habitat for native bees does
not
have to be a big deal. They require limited use of
insecticides,
weed- free, uncultivated ground, areas of mulch, a few old logs, and
some
native bushes.

Most of the native insects only live for a couple of
months, but because of the many numbers of different species, a variety
of plants need to be grown that will provide pollen and nectar
throughout the year. Within the field, planted as a hedge
row
every 100-200 meters (one or two football fields), at the
field edges and
corners should be enough to complement the honeybees' pollination services.
In a garden situation, planting the native pollinator habitat
around the edges of the vegetable or fruit garden seems to work best. The
predatory flies also use the nectar and pollen of the flowering
bushes to
sustain
them. Increasing the predators
should reduce the need for the use of
insecticides.

So, if you can maintain
native
flowers all year
that should provide the maximum pollinators, predators, and parasites
for the ecosystem and your
crop. This would seem to be a natural solution anywhere in the
world. Use native plants from your regional area, to attract the most
numbers of beneficial insects.

Anthophorula is a little
digger bee. Maybe 6mm (1/4 inch) long that appears white to the
naked eye. Busy little thing. Provide weed free open ground and some California
Buckwheat. to maintain this bee.

Many Butterflies
are excellent pollinators. Too bad the larvae can eat the same plants
to the ground.

Many crops
worldwide are pollinated by honeybees with the help of wild insect
pollinators, with a corresponding great increase in yield. Many of
these crops grow in California. Generally, the major wild insect pollinators are mostly bees, then flies.

Many wild bees are solitary; that is, they do not form a colony in which there is division of labor, with workers, queens, etc., but some are eusocial; they nest in abandoned mice, vole, gopher dens,
or under tussocks of grass (bumblebees), in tunnels in dead trees, or
tiny tunnels in the ground or within hollow stems, or twigs (solitary bees).

Don't forget wild
flies. In many crops flies are minor major pollinators! Flies are still very
important because, if the major pollinators are absent, then flies
become the major pollinators. Flies are the backup system for
pollination, in many cases. The best way to conserve and attract
pollinating flies is to conserve their habitat.

Create a Pollinator Habitat

To create a habitat for pollinators, growing a variety of plants, so that there is something flowering almost all year round, works best. The best habitats to attract these wild pollinators are: heterogeneous as possible, edge habitats, lots, with high density of flowers, some bare soil between plants, with no soil disturbance (this means no tilling, no shovels, no hula hoes, etc.). They need well-drained, undisturbed soil, and soil not compacted by vehicles or machinery.

To increase yields in agricultural crops via wild insect pollinators, limited inputs are best; best practices are microspray or overhead irrigation, limited use of low-toxicity herbicides, insecticides, or inorganic fertilizers. For vegetable and fruit gardens, if possible, place compost as a mulch on top of the ground, instead of tilling the compost into the soil.

Unfortunately, in
order to have a food-producing garden or crop, activities such as
fertilizing, weeding, harvesting, and tilling have to be done every
season for some crops, and every few seasons for other crops, depending on
your location in the state. Thus, the wild pollinator habitat should be
located away from the field/orchard/garden proper, to protect the area
from disturbance. Since many wild insect pollinators nest underground,
especially bees, common gardening and farming activities will destroy
or damage their nests. To reiterate, this pollinator habitat is best
located on the edges of the crop or garden area, where no regular
gardening/farming activities are going on, such as tilling, weeding,
fertilizing, watering, harvesting, etc.

Because the range
of many wild insect pollinators in California is very small, like 450
ft. to 1800 ft, compared to a honeybee which can be up to 5 miles,
putting the pollinator habitat as close as possible to the garden or
crop will usually increase yields.

The more variety of California native plants you grow that support
wild pollinators, the more variety of wild pollinators will be present,
and according to researchers, there is a positive correlation between
pollinator diversity, and crop yield.

Plant List and Design for Pollinator Habitat

More pollinators have been found in linear habitats. So I have
created an example of a roadside/gardenside, or cropside if you will,
pollinator habitat, utilizing a variety of California native shrubs,
and perennials that should produce flowers throughout the year, in most
areas of California. Since there are some species that are
wide-ranging, those have been listed below. Some of the plants of
certain genera have different species in different parts of the state,
and so those species are not listed for every microclimate.

Roadside or Field or Garden or Orchard
Edges

If you set out the plants at 100% spacing, there will still be bare
soil between plants, and you can use mulch on top of the ground under
the drip line of each plant.

Different types of plants need different types of mulch. The planting guide will give information on which type of mulch to use, and how to best plant, water, and maintain the California native plants for the pollinator habitat. Annuals in sun need no mulch, annuals in shade will utilize the mulch of the shrub or tree shading them.

Annual Wildflower
Patch should be separate from the linear hedgerows of perennials, and shrubs, and only as large as you can handle (for purposes of weeding,
labor wise). A good spot is sunny, no hose nearby, and a spot you don't
know what to do with. For a garden or orchard, putting the annual wildflower patches at the corners of the garden work really well.

Plant the annuals in a dense patch, 3' by 3' is a good start. The reason for
the small size is the labor and time involved to weed, which will overcome you
if you are not careful.